IFA 2012: Everything You Need to Know
The international technology trade show known as IFA is still going on out in Berlin and we're just back from the show floor and we've brought together all the news, announcements and previews from Germany in one place for you to enjoy.
IFA 2012, or the Internationale Funkausstellung Berlin to give it is full name, is taking place in Berlin at the moment, but all the major players have already unveiled their new products at this stage, and we've had a chance to have a look at the most interesting products that have been announced.
IFA 2012 was certainly the year of Windows 8 and an explosion in new laptop/tablet designs. Not only did we see companies come out with new Ultrabooks, such as the Asus Zenbook U500, but companies are also looking to take advantage of the more touch-friendly nature of Windows 8.
We saw convertible laptops, we saw tablets with keyboard docks, we even saw laptops with two screens. It is going to be interesting to see how the laptop market develops over the coming months as manufacturers try to figure out just what consumers are looking for in terms of portable computing.
We also saw the world's first Windows Phone 8 handset announced, in the shape of the Samsung Ativ S along with Sony's huge (and expensive) 4K television.
Hands-on previews
Samsung Galaxy Note 2 Hands-on [VIDEO]
Samsung's highly-anticipated Galaxy Note 2 is the successor to the original Note and comes with a bigger screen, Jelly Bean and an improved Wacom stylus.
Samsung Galaxy Camera Hands-On
Samsung is looking to reinvent the camera by using Android to power the interface. The 16 megapixel sensor is combined with the latest version of Android to let users download apps to add more functionality to the camera. An interesting take on the whole camera phone (or should that be phone camera?) concept.
The latest Ultrabook from Asus which looks to combine powerful interior with a sleek and slim design.
Not content with one screen on your laptop? Then Asus has the answer for you, with its dual-screen Taichi. Along with the regular screen, the lid of the laptop also contains a touchscreen, which can be used independently and simultaneously with the normal screen. Useful? Maybe. Crazy? Certainly, and we may never see it on sale here in the UK.
The latest phone in Sony's quickly expanding Xperia line-up is the flagship Xperia T, which features a 4.65in screen, a 1.5GHz dual-core processor and a huge 13 megapixel sensor on the rear. Oh and James Bond will use it one in the new Skyfall film next month.
Sony has launched its first tablet with Xperia branding. The follow-up to last year's Tablet S, the Xperia Tablet S keeps the same folded magazine design but boosts the screen resolution to HD and the processor is now quad-core rather than dual-core.
Samsung Ativ Smart PC Hands-On
Along with the world's first Windows Phone 8 handset, in the shape of the Ativ S, Samsung also showed off a couple of tablet/laptop hybrids at IFA, including the Ativ Smart PC, which combines an 11.6in PLS display with a full-sized keyboard dock, which will run Windows 8 when it launches on 26 October.
Sony 84in Bravia KD-84X9005 4K TV Hands-on
There's very little content available at the moment which has 4K resolution, but that is not stopping Sony from launching an 84in Bravia TV with a resolution of 3,840 x 2,160. Giving you four times the resolution of your current Full HD TV, the 84in KD-84X9005 will at least be able to upscale Blu-rays and HD TV but this is surely one for the future, and with a rumoured price tag of £20,000 you might be better off waiting six months to see prices come down.
Samsung's low-power Windows RT tablet is thin and light, comes with a dual-core 1.5GHz processor and a 10.1in HD screen. It will be interesting to see who Samsung will market this Ativ TAb at compared to its fully-fledged Windows 8 tablets/laptop hybrids, the AtivSmart PC and Ativ Smart PC Pro.
News
IFA 2012: Dell Unveils XPS Duo 12, XPS 10 and XPS One 27
IFA 2012: HTC Announces Desire X Smartphone
IFA 2012: Samsung Announces Ativ S Windows Phone 8 Device
IFA 2012: Sony Announces Vaio Duo 11 Hybrid Ultrabook/Tablet
IFA 2012: Sony Announces Xperia T, V, and J Smartphones
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